Has anyone noticed that the public good has given way completely to individual greed? It has snuck up on us gradually and imperceptibly over the last half century under the guise of “freedom of the individual” or economic neoliberalism.

The commonality we nevertheless shared as individuals has been lost as the common-wealth or economic rent that bound us together has been all but completely privatised.

That would be a good starting point if we wanted to explain the increasingly obvious socio-economic disintegration happening before our eyes.

But then I suppose a corrupt system thrives on these crises as an opportunity for the powerful to concentrate their grip even further.

“We can’t have too much democracy in these circumstances, guys! Tough measures are called for – and the plebs will usually see it as being an example of good government!“